Our Towne Bethlehem March 2019: Ice Out

Ice Out

The business end of a grapple hook
used for harvesting ice. 

Hanging on the wall at the Bethlehem Historical Association’s Cedar Hill Schoolhouse Museum is an object that reminds me of a jousting lance from the Middle Ages. The wooden handle is about 14 feet long and it is topped with a mean looking pair of spikes, one for pushing and one for pulling. Such grapple hooks were one of the many sharp and spiky tools used to harvest ice. During the winter months, when the ice reached 14 to 16 inches thick, men and horses gathered on the Hudson River to bring in this cold and perishable crop.

Grapple hooks being used on the Hudson River to move ice in the channel towards the ice house.
Photo courtesy of the New York State Archives.

March is the season of “ice out.”  People kept an eye on the rivers for when the ice would finally thaw enough to shake loose and float away downstream. Ice out meant boat traffic with its attendant commerce and travel could resume on the river. Judging by these two newspaper notes, ice out could be a loud affair. “The ice went out of the river in a remarkably quiet and orderly manner.” (Coeymans News Herald, March 30, 1886.) “Cedar Hill: The ice went quietly out of the river last Friday. Navigation is now open from Troy to New York.” (Altamont Enterprise, April 6, 1900.)

Freezing and thawing also meant ice jams, and ice jams could mean flooding. Several of the photos here illustrate one way that was used to manage ice jams: blowing them up to get the ice and water moving. These photos are part of a montage that appeared in the March 9, 1912 issue of the Albany Evening Journal under the headline “Experts dynamiting the ice at New Baltimore, hoping to prevent spring freshet.”

Newspapers often reported on the spring “freshet” when heavy rain or snow melt created a rush of fresh water in the river. Combine a freshet, whose excess water could lead to flooding all by itself, with a packed-up ice jam, and the river’s shores could experience catastrophic flooding.

The May 5, 1893 Troy Daily Times certainly went for drama in its headlines about flooding caused by heavy rains and snow melt. May in a Rage. A Remarkable Freshet. Elemental Extravagance. An Endangered Fleet. The article noted that the water level was two inches below the spring freshet when the ice went out, and that it was still rising. It detailed the damage the flooding caused so far including flooded streets, basements and backyards. Various barges and boats were pulled from their moorings and “sent swirling downstream.” Even railroad service was interrupted. Locally, a bridge carrying the West Shore Railroad over a creek in South Bethlehem was swept away by the rising water.

While we rarely use the word freshet or blow up ice jams anymore, we are still experiencing them. Just this past January, a warm spell loosened the ice on the Hudson River. The ice rushed along and knocked at least 8 boats and barges free to swirl downstream. You can search the internet for dramatic photos of the Captain J.P., usually docked at Troy, wedged against the railroad bridge near the Corning Preserve in Albany. The power of Hudson River ice and flood water continues to be felt today here in Bethlehem and beyond.

Below is the photo series that illustrates ice jam removal in March 1912.

William Welch of Van Wies Point, the “blaster in charge,” gets the explosive charge ready.

Out on the ice, the dynamite is towed into position. Note the large ice warehouse in the background.

Welch sets the fuse in anticipation of the explosion that will loosen the ice jam.

The explosion.

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Our Towne Bethlehem February 2019: Light

Light

Not so long ago, on a cold January night, our neighborhood lost power for a couple of hours. The scramble for candles and flashlights, the bright circle around the candle flame and the dark corners of the room, got me to thinking about light. It is such a simple thing that profoundly influences how we experience life. 

Back in time, the amount of available light controlled every day decisions.  Day light was essential and working “sun up to sun down” was common.  Buildings were aligned whenever possible to take advantage of natural light.  Rooms were painted light colors and work tables placed by windows. Craftspeople knew they could produce more when daylight hours were longer.  Candles were expensive. Was the work worth the candle?

Using candles and burning oil in lamps goes deep into ancient times. In American history, candles, while common and often homemade, were relatively costly.  Less expensive models were made from tallow (various animal fats), more expensive versions were made from beeswax, bayberries and whale spermaceti. Burning candles had to be managed and “snuffed” every few hours for maximum efficiency. To snuff a candle was to trim the wick without actually putting the flame out, unlike how we think about snuffing out a candle today.

Burning liquid fuel for light was common as well.  In 1784, the argand lamp was patented, and said to be the first basic change to lamps in thousands of years.  The argand gave the illumination of six freshly snuffed candles, an amount that some found too bright given that people were used to weak light of candles.  1787 saw another advance in oil lamps called the agitable lamp said to be cheaper than candles.  Notice the name “agitable”, capable of being agitated.  Oil lamps tipping and spilling burning oil was a serious problem.

Both oil lamps and candles were used simultaneously in households before the 1860s.   While tallow was commonly burned, another popular option was whale oil. (The story of whaling ships based out of Hudson River ports is a story for another article.) The advent of cheap petroleum products, especially kerosene, after the Civil War made candles obsolete and drove the whalers out of business.

In the 1800s, with changing society, ordinary people began to want good, cheap and dependable lighting. Gas lighting was making an impact on city dwellers, and improved kerosene lamps, especially those of the Dietz company, were making an impact all over. Electricity, Edison and his lightbulb, would make a huge impact at the turn of the 20^th century.

Next time you are “burning the midnight oil” take a moment to be grateful for the ability to flip a switch for an abundant supply of light.  For our ancestors, darkness was real, and quite profound.  For hundreds of years, working and reading at night was accomplished by dim candle light and later in the pool of light from an oil lamp. In 2019, we are more likely to complain about too much light with many working on solutions to alleviate light pollution.  Now, except in the occasional power outage, people control the light instead of the light controlling people.

At the top of this post is a circa 1915 Dietz Junior Side Lantern that could be mounted on a wagon and included a bullseye lens to magnify light.  It is part of the collection of the Bethlehem Historical Association.  

Above is a Conde Reflector and Shade Advertisement. By 1900, Alonzo and Pattie Conde were living on Kenwood Avenue in Delmar. Alonzo had a long career working with metal, including time as the president and manager of the Capital City Malleable Iron Company. Conde’s Reflector and Shade was an item that could be attached to any oil lamp increasing the amount of light given and saving on fuel.  As the ad notes, “It’s use for one evening for sewing, reading, or lighting a room from a side or bracket lamp will satisfy you that you have made one good purchase.” (Courtesy of the Bethlehem Historical Association.)

The First Reformed church of Bethlehem had a variety of lamp lighting.  Note the large chandelier with its many kerosene lamps.  The fixture would be lowered from the ceiling for regular cleaning and refueling.  Note the single lamps on either side of the recessed area.  They are conveniently placed next to the rack that would have the numbers of the hymns to be sung during the service.

A group of Slingerlands women in their Red Cross uniforms pose with their sewing machines during World War I, circa 1916.  Look closely and note that the machines are electrified and that a light bulb fixture dangles from the ceiling. Electricity came to Delmar about 1906. A small note in the December 17, 1909 Altamont Enterprise states “Cross arms are being placed on the telephone poles throughout this village, preparatory to extending the electric light systems by Delmar to Slingerlands.“

This picture looking down South Street in South Bethlehem, circa 1920, nicely juxtaposes electrified street lamps and power poles with horse drawn wagons.  Electricity came to South Bethlehem in 1907.

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Slingerlands Fire Company and the Slingerlands Baseball Team

For your Monday afternoon enjoyment, I give you this great picture of members of the Slingerland Fire Company atop their rig in 1928.

The Tony who is driving is Tony Burton and riding is Chief Joe Pastori.

Both played baseball with the Slingerlands Team in the Susquehanna League.

Joe Pastori

Tony Burton

For the sake of completeness, here is the listing of all the ball players in the photo which was taken circa 1928.

Batboy: Donny Scoons

Front row, seated, left to right: Dave Scoons, Art Delaney, Nick Halsdorf, Jim Scoons, Herb Hay, Bill Sager, Perlo Fauber

Back row, standing, left to right: DeWitt Simmon, A. Rossbrook, Bill Burton, Tony Burton, Bud Osterhout, Berb Leibick, Ted Goldring, Joe Pastori, Bill Degnarr

Man in white standing in way back is un-identified.  Cap says CPS

And that is all.  Enjoy!

Our Towne Bethlehem January 2019: Keeping Warm

It has been my privilege to publish with Our Towne Bethlehem for a long time now.  In order to make the current crop of articles more accessible I am going to publish them here on the blog the month after they appear in Our Towne.  Of course I have a back log - so here is January's!

Keeping Warm

As 2019 arrives, I am switching up the focus of my then and now articles for Our Towne Bethlehem.  Since my first article appeared in February 2013, I have been inspired by old photographs of Bethlehem people, buildings and scenes. My curiosity led me to find out more and share it with you. In fact, I have gathered up the past 3 years’ worth of articles into a new book. Bethlehem People and Places (published by Troy Book Makers) is due out in mid-February.

For 2019, I am going to seek my inspiration in objects.  I’ve been inspired by Neil MacGregor’s History of the World in 100 Objects and the Albany Institute of History and Art’s exhibit “The Capital Region in 50 Objects.”  Which objects will open a window into local Bethlehem history?  The Bethlehem Historical Association has a wide-ranging collection of objects and artifacts, and I am looking forward to partnering with them to see what we can discover.  If you have ideas about historical objects, please be sure to pass them along.

Parlor Stoves

As winter is upon us, my mind turns to keeping warm. If you have ever gathered around a wood burning fireplace, you know that half the heat goes up the chimney leaving the rest of the house cold.  As you warm your hands, your front side is roasting while your backside is freezing.  People were always trying to find a better way to keep warm.

Cast iron box stoves, with their more efficient radiating heat, were coming into use in Albany in the 1740s. These 6 plated stoves were a basic rectangle with a door on one end to add fuel and a smoke pipe on the back that connected a chimney. General Philip Schuyler, in 1776 while furnishing the army at Saratoga for the winter, ordered fifty such stoves each to be 30 inches long and 20 inches high.   In 1742, Ben Franklin invented his Pennsylvania Fireplace, which was originally intended to be inserted into an existing fireplace.  Others improved upon the idea creating the freestanding Franklin Stove you can still purchase today.  One defining characteristic of a Franklin-type stove are the wide doors that open to give the look of fire place.

Through the creative minds of engineers and foundrymen, the simple box stove grew and changed and improved. Column styles and baseburners led to greater efficiency. The medium of cast iron led to amazing design elements. In the mid to late 1800s you could find stoves embellished with columns, swags and urns. A favorite is “Morning Call” manufactured by Stow & White of Troy that features a large, crowing rooster on the front.  Base burning parlors stoves with their cylindrical shape often had isinglass panes (thin, transparent sheets of mica) that emitted a golden light.

At the same time that parlor stoves were taking off, their larger counterparts in the basement were also coming online.  Hot air, stream and hot water central heating systems were all happening in the 1800s. The familiar hot water radiator we still see today was first developed in 1863.

Think about how all this heat changed the way people live.  Just in domestic architecture, the lofty Victorian style home would just not be comfortable if we only had fireplaces for heat.  John I. Mesick says it best in his forward to the book Cast With Style.

Stoves made possible the development of a distinctly American domestic architecture…houses became large rambling affairs, with wings and bays spreading outward to provide rooms with exposures on three sides.  Windows took on increasingly ample size to further open the dwelling to its setting.  Internally, the tightly compartmented houses of earlier times were dissolved into a free flow of spaces…as high-ceilinged rooms were opened wide onto one another and central stairhalls were extended upward through several stories.”

Here in upstate New York, as winter surrounds us, take a moment to appreciate the central heating we enjoy in modern time.

Want to learn more and see some of these great old stoves in person?  Visit the exhibit “Heavy Metal: Cast Iron Stoves of the Capital Region” at the Albany Institute of History and Art now through August 18, 2019.  Read more in the original exhibit catalog from 1981: “Cast With Style Nineteenth Century Cast-iron Stoves from the Albany Area” introduction and catalog by Tammis Kane Groft. 

This “Handsome Acme Comfort Parlor Heater” was advertised in the 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog. It burned either hard or soft coal and came in three sizes.  The largest was 38 ½ inches tall and cost $7.44.  They also offered a smaller version that could easily be adapted to burn natural gas.  

Katie Ladd was a stenographer at the Callanan Road Improvement Company for six years, leaving the company in May 1916.  She is pictured here in her South Bethlehem office, seated at the typewriter typing up her shorthand notes. On the left of the picture one can see the distinctive curve of a parlor stove. 

Part of the inspiration for this article is this pot belly stove found in the tollgate building at the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse Museum, home of the Bethlehem Historical Association. Pot belly stove were a more utilitarian stove especially compared to the fancy parlor stove.  They first appeared in the mid-1800s and were often found in train stations and one-room schools. This one could burn wood or coal and had a flat cooking area on the top.

The Town Historian’s office has few historic photos that show the interiors of old homes.  This one, with a heating radiator front and center, is from the early 20^th century. The home is located on South Street in South Bethlehem.  Radiators such as this one came into use as early as the 1860s and 70s. A furnace in the basement heated the hot water that circulated in the system.

Cast iron kitchen ranges developed hand in hand with the heating parlor stove. In the photo here, a member of the Degenaar family poses with her kitchen range, circa 1920.  It is found in an album of Degenaar family photos and might be Augusta Degenaar.  Augusta and her husband John were living on South Pearl Street in Albany for the 1925 N.Y. census but had moved to Clapper Road in Bethlehem by the time of the 1930 U.S. Census. Augusta was “keeping house” and John was a chauffeur. 

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